Better Late Than Never
by FeatherPen18
Summary: Snag: 1. To catch or tear  something  on a projection. 2. To become caught on a projection 3. To catch or obtain  someone or something . Elizabeth Saunders is most definitely snagged. M for language, violence, and other themes. Game-based.
1. Late

**Love = Pokémon Fanfiction. This story is rated M for language, violence, and other adult themes in later chapters. Please use discretion when reading. I thank you for your time and attention as you read this story. Enjoy. – FeatherPen18**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon – All rights belong to Nintendo.**

Chapter One:

My fifteenth birthday. This was it. The world was wide open, waiting for me. I smiled and looked outside. Kanto never looked so beautiful. The wide fields near Pallet Town were homes to dozens of pokémon, and they scampered about happily in the grass. Today, I would start my journey. I was going to be the best. Pokémon Trainer that is.

You may be wondering why I'm starting my adventure so late. Most kids go out when they are ten years old – that's when they can receive their starter pokémon from Prof. Oak. Yet, I'm fifteen and haven't left my parent's house. Believe me, I've been dreaming about getting out of here for a long time. But I didn't want to wander off into the wilderness with absolutely no idea what I was doing. For the past five years, I've been studying with Prof. Oak.

He's the kindest and most intelligent man I have ever met. He's been my mentor ever since I finished basic school at ten. From then, I've been his assistant. You wouldn't believe how many pokémon I've seen. Ranging from the local pidgey to a particularly feisty kangaskhan. The Professor gave me medical training, taught me extensive battle strategy, and even supplied cooking lessons. My mother and father were usually very busy; one of them was always out travelling at any point in the year. They're archeologists. There was always some new interesting dig, or maybe a new patch of ruins being excavated. Their research took them out to many different regions – Johto, Hoenn, and recently, Sinnoh. When mom or dad was at home, they'd be typing away information, cataloguing discoveries to submit to the national committee.

So, I was usually out of the house, in the fields with Prof. Oak. A few months after I had started working with him, a travelling trainer stopped by the lab. He was a ranger, and he had brought a sickly gastly for the professor to look at. The poor thing was barely visible, almost dissipating into the air. Professor Oak had said something about power drainage, and ran off to get a med kit. I stayed with the poor creature, trying to hold on to its feeble body. Professor Oak worked through the night, using all sorts of sprays. Finally, he brought in a venomoth. After numerous sprinklings of Poison Powder, the gastly slowly began to recover. Professor Oak explained that, being a poison-type, the gastly could gain energy from the powder. Soon the ghostly pokémon drifted off to sleep.

The ranger told us that he had come from Viridian. He had found the gastly on the outskirts of the great forest, and brought it to the Pokémon Center. But Nurse Joy couldn't figure out how to cure it. So he captured the wild gastly, and flew on the back of his charizard to bring it to Prof. Oak. However, the ranger soon had to leave; his shift at the Viridian Forest was only fifteen minutes later. So, he left the gastly with us.

The ghost pokémon recovered, healing slowly. Each day I would bring in the venomoth to sprinkle its poisonous dust over him. By the end of the month, the gastly was as good as new. The evening it recovered, Prof. Oak determined to let him go into the wild again. But he refused to leave my side. Over the past month, we became best friends. I named him Damien.

"Honey?" I snapped my head to face my mother, breaking free of my reverie. She was standing in her eevee apron, holding a bright yellow plate. My eyes wandered over her familiar face, the faint smile lines at the corners of her brown eyes, the contrast of her dark hair against her olive skin. People always said I was the spitting image of her when she was my age.

"Sweetie! I made pancakes for you, for your special day!" my mom gushed, tears in her eyes. I smiled, accepting the Pikachu shaped breakfast.

"Oh, my baby's grown up! She's going out alone!" Mom dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Mom! I thought you weren't going to make a big deal out of this. I'll be fine. I waited _five years_ to do this. I'm ready to leave," I assured her.

"Anyways, you'll still have Boo to keep you company!" I said, grinning. Boo was my Mom's misdreavus. She was a crazy little thing, popping up where you'd least expect it. Mom had found her hiding in a tomb in Johto. Boo along with my Dad's shuppet, Rocky, were a match made in the most devious section of Hell. The two were the ultimate pranksters – but we loved them.

"Boo!" Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. I started, and my fork clattered to the floor.

"You!" I whipped around to face Boo, who was snickering behind me.

"Oh, she was only playing. Come here, Boo-boo!" My mother cuddled with the adorable abomination. I grumbled and picked the fork off the ground. I quickly ate the rest of my breakfast (with a different fork, don't be gross), and gathered up my stuff. I had a green backpack, stuffed with my clothes, food, a pot, utensils, a lighter, matches… etc. Around my waist was my black studded belt, from which all my pokeballs were secured. I shouldered my bag, and looked in the mirror.

I saw a tall, raven-haired girl ready to kick some serious ass. I wore black cargo pants, a V-necked purple tee, and my signature cap. It was black, with silver swirls curling around the edges. I turned to my mom and gave her a huge hug. I lightly touched to button of the first pokeball on my belt. My gengar, Damien shot out, displaying his mischievous smile. I stepped out onto the porch, my boots thumping lightly on the smooth, weathered wood. Kanto better brace itself. Elizabeth Saunders is going to be Champion.


	2. City

**Route One to Viridian. Have fun in the city, - FeatherPen18**

Chapter Two:

I left Pallet behind, not looking back. My every nerve was tingling with excitement. I was doing it. I was actually doing it! I laughed out loud, and Damien chuckled with me. This was the dream. I skipped along Route One, my boots crunching on the gravel and dirt. The sun beat down overhead, and it warmed my back. In about a half-hour of walking, we reached the outskirts of Viridian City. The plains behind us were long gone. The urban lights and noises were overwhelming.

"Here we are," I breathed. I stuck out my hand, and Damien took it. We took those steps into Viridian together. The city was chaos. Street venders calling out their product, people bustling to their destinations... This was insanity! I quickly returned Damien to his ball; there wasn't enough room on the street for him, and he was getting irritated from the proximity of the strangers. First thing was first; I had to find a Pokémon Center. There I could get a map. That's right. Even though Prof. Oak taught me so much, he refused to give me a map. He said that being lost was half the fun of the trip. I stood at the edges of the street, muttering, "Excuse me" and "Pardon me", trying in vain to break through the throng of pedestrians.

"You're not going to get anywhere doing _that_." I turned to see a teenage boy, who looked to be a year or so older than me. He had spiky auburn hair, and tan skin. His features were tough and windswept, as if he'd just been in the middle of some action.

"Sorry?" I asked, in bewilderment. He laughed, his bright green eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, you're _definitely_ not from here. You're way too polite. If you want to move anywhere through this convoluted city, you have to shove your way through. Where are you headed too? I could walk you there." He smiled, and took my arm in his. I smirked at him.

"And I'm the one who's too polite? Thank you, though. I'm headed toward the Pokémon Center," I replied. He chuckled.

"Well that's in the heart of the city. Hold on tight, I don't want to lose you in the crowd!" With that, he jumped into the fray, towing me behind him. We zigzagged through the streets, winding past the various shoppers and the like. We stopped at a street corner, pausing to cross the road.

"I'm Garrett by the way. I figure you should know the name of the person who's dragging you through an unfamiliar city," he said. I chuckled.

"I'm Elizabeth. But most people just call me Zee. Oops! Light turned green!" Now I was dragging him across the street, just in time before the light turned red again.

"Nice to meet you, Zee. And here we are!" At that very moment, we turned the corner. A large building stood in front of me. The roof was a dome, designed like a pokeball. I was awestruck. This was the first time I'd ever seen a Pokémon Center.

"Well, don't just stand there gawking! Come on!" Garret pulled me along, up the sidewalk to the double doors. The slid automatically open, granting entrance to the brightly lit interior. Dozens of trainers were milling around, playing with pokémon, feeding them, and of course, giving them to Nurse Joy to heal.

"Wow," I gasped, staring wide-eyed at everything. Garrett grinned at my expression.

"Yep. First time in a Pokémon Center, huh?" I started.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked. Garrett rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Every center looks like this. At least, they all look similar. And your expression says it all. You've never been in one. So, my question is, why are you so late?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I could tell he thought I was an unprepared newbie. Well he was in for a rude awakening.

"I spent some more time studying. But just because I've never been in a Pokémon Center, doesn't mean I know nothing," I shot back. He raised an eyebrow.

"Care to test your knowledge?" he asked, smirking.

"Gladly," I replied, giving him a wicked grin. He took a step back. Hehe, this was going to be _fun_. I liked Garrett, I truly did, but he needed to learn not to mess with me. Trainers did stop by Prof. Oak's. So of course, I battled them.

"Shall we?" I walked to the doors again, waving him to follow me. Once outside, I enlarged Damien's ball, feeling it heat up slightly in my hand.

"Damien, come on out!" I threw the ball up into the air. Ruby lighting shot out from the ball, and my beloved gengar appeared. Damien grinned at Garrett, and waved. The said boy looked even more unnerved – probably because our smiles were exactly the same. But he drew out his own ball from his pocket.

"Rapidash, go!" The flaming stallion materialized, pawing at the ground. It neighed wildly, raring to battle. I looked at Damien. He was rolling his eyes, as if to say, _what a drama queen_. I chuckled. Damien took his place in front of me.

"Okay, ready? I'll let you have first move," I called. Garret immediately set into action.

"Rapidash, use Agility!" Garrett yelled. The Rapidash started sprinting in circles on the spot, speeding up every second.

"Damien, Confuse Ray!" Damien's eyes glowed purple and then blue as he tried to lock eyes with the Rapidash, but it was moving too quickly.

"Rapidash, Megahorn!" The creature's horn glowed bright white, and it charged Damien. But my gengar was pretty damn fast too.

"Damien, jump into its shadow!" My gengar cackled as it took over the shadow of the Rapidash. The shadow started to jump, and rear on the pavement. Frightened, the Rapidash tried to stomp its own shadow, but that of course was impossible.

"Rapidash, come on, use Stomp!" Garrett called, but it was useless.

"Now use Shadow Punch!" Damien leaped up and hit the Rapidash square in the jaw. It stumbled back.

"Confuse Ray, again!" Damien locked eyes this time, and the Rapidash started to teeter.

"Rapidash, Quick Attack!" The Rapidash tried, but it hit the wall of a nearby building instead of Damien.

"Damien, finish it off with Dark Pulse!" Damien, with unnecessary flair, jumped up into the air, flipping. He landed heavily on the ground, and a purple wave of dark energy rippled away from him. It struck the still confused Rapidash. The large pokémon staggered back for a moment, and then fell to the ground.

"Rapidash, return." Garrett returned the pokémon back into the ball, and then smiled at me.

"You really know what you're doing, don't you?" I smiled back.

"You think? But I couldn't do anything without you!" I turned and hugged Damien, lovingly.

"You did awesome buddy! But was the flip really needed?" I ran my hand through the spikes on his back. Damien nodded happily.

"Ok, now you're just getting cocky," I admonished. Damien grinned and saluted me as he jumped back into his ball. Garrett was laughing once more.

"You're pokémon is hilarious," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Don't say that! He can still hear you, and it will go right to his head," I replied.

"Well, let's go back into the pokémon center, where we can heal our pokémon, though I doubt Damien needs it." I followed Garret back into the building, where we gave our pokémon to Nurse Joy. In a short minute, we got them back.

"Okay, I've got to pay up now. You won, fair and square." Garrett handed over 1000 pokedollars*.

"Why, thank you sir," I said, mockingly tipping my hat. He rolled his eyes, and started to walk out.

"Wait!" I called. Garrett stopped and looked back.

"Let me at least take you to lunch. I think we both worked up an appetite." I smiled, and took his arm in mine, like he had done to me earlier.

"Know any good restaurants?"

***It sounds like a lot, I know. But for those who've played the games, you know it isn't.**


	3. Stranger Danger

**Stranger Danger… Don't stray from the pack. – FeatherPen18**

Chapter 3:

"Garrett! Good to see you again, my boy!" A loud, portly fellow ushered us into the restaurant, saving us from the heat of the midday sun. The air conditioning was a blessing. Smells wafted in from the kitchen, and I groaned. I hadn't eaten since my hasty breakfast back in Pallet.

"Sit anywhere you like, lunch is on me!" The man, who I presumed to be the owner, said, clapping Garrett on the shoulder.

"Oh, that's not really necessary! You don't need to do that, I'll pay," I insisted. But the man shook his head obstinately.

"No friends of Garrett are going to pay in this establishment!" With that, the man walked away, disappearing into the kitchen.

"It's best not to argue with Richard. He won't take no for an answer. Here, this is my favorite table." Garrett led me to a booth near a window. Sunlight filtered in through the glass, and we watched people walking on the sidewalk.

"So… When did you find your Rapidash? It's quite something," I asked, breaking apart my chopsticks. Garrett smiled reminiscently.

"It's kind of a funny story. I was ten, and had gone on a vacation with my grandparents right before I was supposed to set out on my journey. They said they had a surprise for me. They lived out in the country, in a farmhouse with all sorts of pokémon. They brought me into the barn and told me to pick one. There were dozens of doduos, rattatas, sandshrews, and machops. But tied up in one of the stables, was a raging ponyta. He was slamming into the wooden walls, spitting embers. My grandparents had to keep dousing the stall with water, keeping the wood damp. He was the one I choose. My grandparents thought I was crazy, but I knew there was something special about him." Garrett paused, eyes lighting up with mirth. He really loved his pokémon.

"I took his reins and brought him outside. Well, not me alone. It took me, my dad, and my grandfather to wrestle him out into the fenced-in field. I jumped up onto his back, where he immediately tried to throw me off. But I held on as he sprinted around, bucking like crazy. Then I started laughing. The whole thing was ridiculously dangerous, but I found myself laughing despite it all. Then he started whinnying his own laughter. By the end of the day, we respected each other. Of course, it took me another week to coax him into a pokeball!" Garrett laughed.

While he was talking, our food had arrived. Dumplings, noodles, and soup… it was delicious. In the next half-hour I had successfully eaten myself into a food coma.

"Oh. My. God…" I groaned. Garrett was also collapsed in his seat. Richard chose that moment to swing by.

"How was your lunch?" he asked, smiling.

"Amazing. But I think I lost the ability to move," I replied, stretching out experimentally.

"Thank you! I hope I will see you two again very soon." He winked at Garrett who blushed slightly. Richard chuckled and left the table.

"I like Richard," I decided.

"He sure is something. Ugh. We better get moving. It's unhealthy just to sit around after a meal. I can show you around Viridian some more if you'd like." Garrett stood.

"That would be awesome. I'll meet you outside. Could you show me where the bathroom is?" Garrett nodded and pointed to the opposite side of the restaurant. When he disappeared behind the exit door, I left a tip for Richard. Then I did go to the bathroom. There weren't any public bathrooms out on Route One.

I walked towards the ladies room when I heard whispering in the utilities closet. It sounded like two men, although I couldn't be sure. I clicked Damien's ball. My best friend emerged from his ball, and looked questioningly at me.

"Damien go into the shadows and find out what's going on in there. It seems… suspicious," I said. Damien nodded seriously, and melted into the shadows, and slipped under the door. I waited anxiously outside. A few long minutes later, Damien reappeared from under the door, eyes wide.

"What's going on? What are they talking ab-" my whispering halted. I turned to see that the door was wide open, and two young men, about seventeen or eighteen, standing behind me.

"Um. H-hi. I was j-just passing by..." I started to walk quickly away, but one of them grabbed my wrist.

"You think she heard anything?" The boy who grabbed me asked. He was lean with dark hair and steely, blue eyes. The other one was fair-haired, and muscular. The blonde one grabbed my other wrist.

"We can't take any chances," he replied. They started to drag me to a back door.

"Damien! Dark Pulse!" I shouted. But he was nowhere to be seen. He must have melted into the shadows again. Why would he abandon me? I started panicking. I couldn't reach my belt, where my other pokémon were.

"Somebody help m-!" A large hand clapped over my mouth, stopping my screaming. My muffled yells couldn't reach the other diners.

"Come on. Get her into the van." The dark haired one pulled my arms behind my back and tied them, and the blonde gagged me. The two forced me through the back door, kicking and screaming. In the back was a parking lot, mostly used for food delivery trucks. But in a corner was a white, nondescript van. The blonde ran ahead, and opened up the back. It was dark inside, I couldn't make out anything that might tell who these people were or who they worked for. They threw me into the back, and hastily shut the doors. I kicked at the doors angrily. No _way_ was I getting kidnapped! One thing you should know. I immediately go from frightened to irrationally angry. Just then, I saw the most welcome sight in the world. Damien materialized from the shadows. Of course he hadn't left.

He smiled and untied my hands, and I undid the gag. I was about to attack my kidnappers when Damien stopped me. He gave he a meaningful look and held up a hand. He wanted me to wait. To see where they were taking me. Obviously, he had heard something in the closet that was important. That's why he hid in the restaurant. But wait! _Garrett_. He was still waiting outside for me!

I mouthed his name to Damien, who grinned. He thumbed to the doors. I looked through the grimy windows to see a boy on a motorcycle. His helmet covered his head fully, but I knew it was Garrett. Damien had run and told him to follow us. I smiled. Damien gestured to my belt. Right. I was going to need another one of my pokémon – just in case. Damien snatched up the second ball on my belt excitedly and pressed the button. Nessie was released onto the floor of the van, rubbing sleep from he eyes, the red ball on the end of her tail flickering. Nessie was my ampharos. She too had been a rescued pokémon. Dad found her in Johto near Violet City. She had fallen in a briar patch, and her mareep wool was snagged in the bushes. Dad brought her home for me. She and Damien had gotten along well from the start.

Nessie shot me a quizzical look, but Damien explained everything to her. Her eyes narrowed angrily and she was about to shock the two boys, but I stopped her. "Later" I mouthed. She pouted but consented. In about ten minutes the van stopped. I saw Garrett pull his bike to a stop around the corner of a building. The two boys got out of the front and were circling to the back.

"Three. Two. ONE!" Just as the boys were pulling the doors open, I kicked them open with all my might. They stumbled back, the dark haired one falling to the ground.

"Nessie! Thunderwave!" Nessie let free a bolt of electricity, paralyzing the two. Garret ran up with a tangela.

"Tangela, Vine Whip!" Two blue vines wrapped around the two thugs, hoisting them up into the air.

"Thank you, Garrett," I said. He, however, was glaring at the teenage criminals.

"Zach. Nick." Garrett snapped the names, quick venomous syllables.

"Garrett. You know these people?" I asked, astonished.

"Unfortunately. I'll tell you later. First we need to deal with these sons of bitches," Garrett growled. The dark one, Nick, smirked.

"Angry that we stole your new little whore, Garrett?" He laughed hoarsely. I chuckled lowly. He turned to me, one eyebrow raised.

"Very funny. And I must compliment you on your kidnapping job. Flawless really… but you forgot to check the shadows," I said, looking pointedly at my gengar. Damien smirked evilly and cackled, head thrown back. He really was a crazy pokémon. Zach and Nick flinched.

"Now. What I really want to know – what the hell are you planning?" I snapped, pushing my face nose to nose with Zach.

"Like we'd tell you, fucking bitch," he sneered. I smiled sweetly. I clicked the third pokeball on my belt.

"Come on out, Styx!" A hulking poliwrath shot out of the ball. He cracked his knuckles menacingly and stared down our two captives. Zach gritted his teeth and braced himself.

"Sorry, bud. Hypnosis only," I told him. He opened his mouth and a loud echoing note boomed forth, the air around him blurring. In seconds, my kidnappers were fast asleep.

"Damien. Dream Eater," I ordered. Damien's smile reached ear to ear. A ghostly shadow version stepped out from him and passed through into the two unconscious boys. They started screaming and fighting against the vines that held them.

"What are they seeing, exactly?" Garrett whispered. I turned to him and shrugged.

"No idea. But evidently it's flipping scary," I replied. A couple minutes more and then the Shade Damien returned into its owner. The two goons quieted. I walked over and slapped both of them.

"Care to talk now?" I barked. Nick was the first to break.

"We're supposed to be trailing Garrett. He has something of ours. We need it to-"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Zach yelled, cutting him off.

"Garrett? What are they talking about?" I questioned. Garrett looked around, before facing me again.

"It's not safe to talk here. I'll tell you later. Let's ditch these guys," he said. I nodded and looked to Styx once more. Another hit of Hypnosis and the two goons were out again. I returned Nessie and Styx to their pokeballs but kept Damien out. It wasn't safe in this city.

"It's getting late. Follow me." Garrett strode to his bike. Chills raked up my spine. This was not the Garrett I had met earlier. Whoever those two were, they meant something much more to Garrett.

"Get on," he ordered. He was on his bike. I cautiously straddled the machine. Garrett handed me a helmet. I put it on, the world much darker through the visor.

"Damien, do you mind following us in the shadows? Just in case?" I asked. Damien nodded, melting into the shadow of the building.

"Are you sure he can keep up?" Garrett asked.

"Oh yeah. He can keep up." With that, Garrett started up the mechanical beast. It shuddered underneath me and I yelped.

"Hold onto me," Garrett ordered right as he took off. I wrapped my arms around his midsection as the rest of the world blurred by. What had I gotten myself into? And to think! They sent _ten-year-olds_ into this shit storm.


	4. Snag

**Pokémon XD Anyone? Garrett's background story is upon us – FeatherPen18**

Chapter 4:

Garrett was a crazy driver. The ride was all sharp turns, skidding on asphalt, and nonsensical routes around the city. Then I understood. He was trying to lose anybody who might be following us. The sun was setting and the glass and steel structures around us reflected the blood reds, and fiery oranges. It was all I could do to hold on, and not become a smear on the pavement. Finally he slowed down to a stop near a beat up old building. He helped me off. My legs were jelly. Damien walked out of the bikes shadow and steadied me. Meanwhile, Garrett propped the bike up behind a dumpster, hiding it from potential thieves.

Without saying a word, Garrett opened a back door of the building and gestured for me to come in. I passed over the threshold, the smell of rust and dust flooding my nose. It was dark and dank inside the building. Stains of who knows what ran down the brick walls.

"Nice place you've got here," I whispered. Garrett grunted.

"I don't actually live here in Viridian. I was just dropping by this city to see a friend," he muttered. He squeezed by me in the narrow corridor and took my hand. He guided me through the labyrinth of the apartment building. He opened a door with the numbers 118 hanging on it. Actually, only 1_8 was on the door – the other 1 was on the floor. Inside the apartment was just as bad as the rest, but at least Garrett's bag was there. It was a modern oasis, with a cell phone, a Pokédex and… wait. What was that? Underneath all the other stuff, I could barely see what looked like a mechanical arm. Garrett pulled it out, along with a headset.

"What in the name of Ho-oh is _that_?" I asked. Garrett fastened it onto his arm and slipped on the headset. Instantly, the arm lit up, and a pane of glass slid out in front of Garrett's left eye. It stayed there, seeming to scan the room, before sliding back into the headset. The arm's bright lights softened into a bluish glow.

"This is the Snag Machine," Garrett said, thrusting out his arm for me to get a better look.

"The Snag Machine? What does it do?" I asked. Garrett sighed and sat on the floor. He patted the spot next to him. I sat.

"To answer that, I'll have to start from the beginning of the story," he said, gazing at the glowing machine.

"I'm listening," I said, clasping his hand in mine. Garret smiled grimly at me and then to Damien. For once, the gengar was not smiling.

"It all began with my Uncle Wes in a region called Orre. It's far out in the west, so you probably wouldn't know about it. Orre is mostly made up of desert and wasteland, and pokémon are very rare to find in the wild. My Uncle Wes had been a part of a criminal organization known as Team Snagem." Garrett looked at me. I nodded for him to continue.

"At some point, he quit. But instead of just leaving, he blew up their hideout. And stole this." Garrett lifted his arm encased in the Snag Machine.

"Wow. You're Uncle was a total badass," I said. Garrett smiled a bit at that.

"Yeah. So he made off with this machine. Turns out, it had been made to catch another trainer's pokémon. This was the prototype. The plan was to equip each member of Team Snagem with a Snag Machine, so they could steal other people's pokémon." I gasped, and hugged Damien. I couldn't bear it if he was taken from me.

"That's horrific. Glad your uncle left with a bang. Did it destroy all of their technological advancements?" I asked.

"For the most part yes. But it got worse. You see Team Snagem had allied themselves with an important company known as Cipher. That's where they acquired all their funds, and that's how they ravaged the region unopposed. Cipher had an iron-grip over the police force. Turned out that the Snag Machine wasn't the only piece of evil technology that Cipher was funding," Garrett said.

"What could be worse than a Snag Machine? Honestly!" I replied, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Shadow Pokémon," Garrett whispered.

"Shadow Pokémon? Do you mean dark pokémon or ghost pokémon? Because they're not bad at all, just look at Damien!" I protested.

"No! I mean _Shadow_ Pokémon. They were once normal pokémon whose hearts were artificially closed. They were turned into cold, ruthless, fighting machines. They were obscenely powerful and would tear anything in their way into pieces," Garrett said.

"Oh my God," I whispered, shaking with rage. How could anyone possibly do something so evil?

"Exactly. But my Uncle Wes got to the bottom of it. He defeated Cipher and Team Snagem, although not without help from my Aunt Rui and an anti-Snagem/Cipher organization known as ONBS. Uncle Wes then went out to catch every Shadow Pokémon they made and open up their hearts again. Aunt Rui had the gift of identifying Shadow Pokémon, and she helped him." Garrett said. I smiled.

"So, problem solved!" I said. Garrett shook his head.

"You would think so, huh? But, no. In order to keep this technology out of the wrong hands, Uncle Wes gave the Snag Machine to Prof. Krane, a distinguished professor who invented the Battle Simulator. Prof. Krane is also my mother's boss. It was the professor who fitted the Snag Machine with this headset. It allows the wearer to see if a pokémon is a shadow pokémon or not. He also modified it so it could not catch regular pokémon," Garrett said.

"But why would he bother? Why not destroy it? Wes already caught all the shadow pokémon, right?" I asked.

"Originally, yes. But Cipher wasn't finished. It came back again, presumably a reformed company. But they had recovered the Shadow technology, and once again started closing the hearts of pokémon. Luckily, they didn't have any Snag technology, because my Uncle had blown up the lab that had it. But rumors of the shadow pokémon spread through Orre once again. Then one day at Prof. Krane's Lab, Cipher grunts came and kidnapped him. But, foreseeing the possibility, Prof. Krane gave me the refitted Snag Machine beforehand." I grinned once again.

"Let me guess. You followed in your Uncle's footsteps, kicking evil ass. Then you returned all the shadow pokémon back to normal!" Garrett's mouth flicked up into a sort of half smile.

"Pretty much. I defeated Cipher; I even beat the head of the operation, Master Greevil. For the past year, I've been tracking every shadow pokémon down and returning it to its original state. Cipher's officially gone for good," Garrett said.

"But then why are goons tailing you? And why do you still carry around the Snag Machine?" I asked.

"Well, before Cipher went down, they had been dealing with Team Rocket. I assume you know who they are-"

"Waaaayyyy ahead of you buddy. I know who they are all right. For the past couple years, I've been watching a boy named Ash Ketchum deal with them. He grew up in my hometown, and went on to be one of the most renowned trainers in Kanto, heck, even outside of Kanto! He's been everywhere. And it seems like Team Rocket is always getting in the way of his adventures. But he deals with them accordingly. He's pretty much a hero," I finished. Garrett was grinning now.

"What are you so smiley about?" I asked.

"I know Ash. I ran into him while searching for shadow pokémon. He was infiltrating a Rocket hideout, as was I. I think he was looking for his pikachu. We left with shadow pokémon and Ash's pikachu in tow. Nice kid," Garrett replied.

"Anyways, like I said before, Team Rocket was communicating with Cipher. Thank God, they didn't have enough time to send over the Shadow technology. They had sent out some shadow pokémon, but that was it. However, they did tell them about me, and my Snag Machine. I came to this region hoping to be a regular pokémon trainer. But now I'm constantly on the run from Team Rocket, trying to keep the Snag Machine away from them." Garrett sighed as he took off the Snag Machine, the lights blinking out.

"Well, you've got me to help now!" I said, standing up from the floor.

"What?" Garret asked, bewildered. I stared at him.

"You didn't think I was just going to leave you alone, did you? What kind of person do you think I am?" I asked, feigning hurt. Garrett was up in a flash and he hugged me tight.

"Woah, buddy! What's this for?" I asked, hugging him back. He pulled away, grinning.

"No one has ever stood by me before," he said.

"Obviously, you haven't run into some decent people. Ok. First thing is first. You want to be a normal trainer, right?" I asked. Garrett nodded.

Well then, we'd better find a gym! We can deal with Team Rocket when we see 'em. If Ash did it, so can we. Isn't there a gym here in Viridian?" I asked.

"Yeah. But I checked earlier today. No one is there. Apparently the Gym Leader is out."

"That's disappointing. Oh well. Come on!" I marched out the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" yelled Garrett.

"We're leaving Viridian. If you don't want more Rocket goons following you, it's best to leave at night," I called. I heard running footsteps behind me and Garrett was soon walking with me. Damien followed close behind us.

"One thing before we go," Garrett said.

"What?" I asked. We stepped out into the night, city lights illuminating the roads. Garrett retrieved his bike and we got on. The city lights cast shadows across the angular planes of his face, making him look much more dangerous. His emerald eyes glinted mischievously.

"I need to visit a friend of mine."


	5. Viridian Forest

**Viridian Forest. Maps are advised. – FeatherPen18**

Chapter 5:

Garrett banged on the doors of the Pokémart. A scruffy, bleary-eyed man, perhaps in his twenties, opened the door wearing only an undershirt and his boxers.

"We're closed," he snapped, shutting the door again. But Garrett stuck his foot in the door.

"Ahem." Garret cleared his throat, and the owner looked at him more closely.

"Gah!" The man said, jumping back.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he yelled, clearly terrified.

"Zee, meet Clarence. Clarence, won't you let us in?" Garrett asked, shoving his way into the Pokémart without waiting for an answer. I followed shyly behind him. Clarence glared at us.

"Clarence, I need your help if you don't mind," Garrett said, leaning against one of the walls. Clarence frowned.

"Actually I do mind. Now get out," he said, pointing to the door.

"Hmmm. I don't think you mind at all, considering I might slip something to the police about your prior employment," Garrett replied, nonchalantly examining his fingernails. Clarence paled considerably.

"Fine. Take what you want from the shop. Just leave me be!" Clarence propped his elbows up on the counter near the register, and buried his head in his hands. Garrett shrugged and grabbed a few Super Potions, Hyper Potions, Pokéballs, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and even some Full Heals.

"Really Garrett? You're pretty much robbing this man!" I whispered in his ear. Garrett rolled his eyes.

"He deserves it. He used to be a pokémon poacher, making loads of money off stealing and selling pokémon. I caught him trying to sell some shadow pokémon, and I released all of his 'inventory'," Garrett said, stuffing the supplies into his messenger bag. He looked at Clarence and winked.

"Much obliged, Clarence!" Garrett called, as we left the shop. The ex-poacher grumbled something unintelligible, slammed the door behind us, and locked it. Damien emerged from the alleyway near the bike, snickering at the shopkeeper. He jumped again into the shadow of Garrett's motorcycle.

"Ok, we'll ride to the edge of the Viridian Forest, but from there we need to go on foot," Garrett said, hopping up on his bike. I sat behind him, grabbing him around the middle once more. We pulled away from the curb, and weaved through less populated alleyways, keeping away from the bulk of citizens. The back alleyways were full of junk and graffiti, and I could have sworn I saw something behind us a couple times. But it was just my tired mind playing tricks. In five minutes, we had reached the forest. As we dismounted the bike, a thought occurred to me.

"Garrett, what are we going to do about your bike? It's too heavy to carry, and pushing through the trees is going to be a hassle," I said. Garrett grinned.

"Now this, Zee, I think you're going to like." Garrett pulled out a keychain with a small remote attached to it. He clicked the tiny red button on the side, and the bike shuddered. Amazingly, the motorcycle folded in on itself, becoming smaller and smaller. Soon it was about the size of laptop, nearly one hundredth of the size it had been. Garrett picked it up and slid it into his bag.

"Holy crap! Isn't that thing super heavy when it's condensed?" I asked, shocked. Garrett shook his head, still smiling proudly.

"Despite what you thought, my bike is made of an incredibly light alloy. The folding technology is much like that of the folding bicycles, except much more complex." Garrett smirked at the shock written all over my face.

"I know a mechanic." He shrugged. I shook my head in disbelief. That was one hell of a mechanic.

"You are unbelievable." I threw my hands in the air. We started walking into the forest. Damien was having a grand old time, popping up at different times trying to scare us. I didn't flinch – after the first three years you grow to be impervious. Garrett was a different story. He jumped a mile high each time, much to Damien's, and my, amusement.

"Ha. Ha. It was funny the first 300 times, thank you very much!" Garrett growled, as Damien and I laughed our heads off. Suddenly, Damien stopped. He stood stalk still, his grin fading to a thin line of a mouth. I looked at him worried. He seemed to have gone into a trance.

"Damien. What's wrong?" I asked softly. But Damien stared straight ahead at a grouping of trees. They had no leaves and stood out from the other dark green plant life. They were clearly dead – the wood no longer had any bark on it, and it glowed bone white in the moonlight.

Something flashed by. It was just a dark blur, speeding past. I jumped.

"What was that?" I squeaked.

"Nice try guys, but I know that was Damien!" Garrett said.

"Garrett. Damien is standing right next to you. That wasn't him…" I trailed off, my eyes straining for the thing that had Damien acting so weirdly. Then it stepped out into the light. Another Gengar.

It was black as tar, with glowing scarlet eyes. Around it appeared haunters and gastlys. All the ghost pokémon were grinning hungrily. Damien howled in fear and hid behind me.

"Damien! What's going on? They're just wild pokémon-" I stopped mid sentence. Floating low to the ground was a gastly, faded and asleep. The Gengar and the rest of the ghosts were all using Dream Eater at once. Damien…

"Oh my God!" I hugged my gengar tight, and returned him.

"What's happening? What are they doing?" Garrett yelled. The ghosts had started edging closer to us, still grinning maliciously.

"Hailey, go!" I tossed her ball up into the air. My weavile landed in fighting position. She locked eyes with the giant gengar, sneering at it.

"Use Night Slash!" Hailey was on the ground one second. The next, she was in the Gengar's face slashing it into ribbons. The beast howled in pain, and blasted Hailey away with a powerful Dark Pulse. Hailey stood right back up, but faltered, clutching her shoulder. With gritted teeth she yowled angrily. Her left arm fell limp to her side, the other raised, claws extended.

"Garrett! Some help here!" I yelled. Garrett fumbled with his pokeballs finally throwing one up in the air.

"Ursaring!" The large bear-like pokémon appeared, wielding long, sharp claws.

"Ursaring, use Faint Attack!"

"Hailey, use Icy Wind!" Hailey blew out freezing gusts of air at the ghosts, pelting them with ice. Ursaring jumped in and sucker punched the ghosts, never missing once. The pokémon tried to attack the Ursaring, but none of their ghost attacks would work against the normal type. The gengar reared up to fire off more Dark Pulses, but both Ursaring and Hailey attacked it at once, slashing with all their might. Wailing in pain, the gengar disappeared. The rest of the ghosts followed.

Hailey and Ursaring collapsed, exhausted. I hurried to the sickly gastly, who lay forgotten on the forest floor. It looked exactly how Damien did, when the ranger had brought him to Prof. Oak's lab. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as transparent as my gastly had been.

"Garrett bring me a revive, a super potion, and any pokémon that can use poison powder!" Garrett dropped off the medicine and then walked off into the woods to find a suitable pokémon. He returned twenty minutes later with a butterfree. It flapped its wings gently, the purple dust coating the gastly. It slowly grew more opaque and rose higher in the air.

"Thank goodness we came across it when we did. The ghosts hadn't been using Dream Eater for long, so it's not too badly injured," I said, spraying the gastly with more potions.

"How do you know all of this?" Garrett asked, awestruck.

"Hmm? Oh the medicine, and poison? I told you, I spent time studying before I started my adventure. Professor Oak taught me medical training," I replied.

"Wow. He sure is thorough." Damien let out a low whistle.

"It's not just that. You know, I didn't catch Damien," I said.

"Really? Did Professor Oak give him to you or something?" Garrett asked.

"Nope. A ranger brought him to the lab when he was a gastly. He looked exactly like this one did, except much worse," I answered softly.

"I'm so sorry." Garrett was looking down at his shoes.

"It's fine! Really. He's much better now. It just took him a long time to recover. But it explains why he was so freaked out by that gengar. These ghosts must have been the same ones who had nearly killed him all those years ago," I said.

"Wow. Why would pokémon do something like that to their own kind?" Garrett sat down beside me in the dirt. I shrugged, glowering darkly at the dead trees.

"I guess to make themselves more powerful. Pokémon, like people, can be vulnerable to corruption." The gastly opened its eyes. It started when it saw me hovering over it and it fled back a couple steps.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Do you feel better?" I asked the pokémon gently. It looked at me suspiciously. But then it looked down at itself, to see that it was healed. It smiled at me and then disappeared. I sighed.

"You can let the Butterfree go now," I said.

"Thanks Butterfree! You were awesome," Garrett said. The butterfree squeaked its happiness for helping, before fluttering into the canopy of the trees.

"Ursaring! Hailey! Come on over guys!" Garrett called. The two pokémon were sitting underneath a pine tree, talking to each other. Hailey popped up from her spot and zipped over, wincing when her left arm swung uselessly. Ursaring reluctantly stood and lumbered towards us. I took out a hyper potion and sprayed Hailey, and then I rubbed her shoulder with a salve. That Dark Pulse had done some damage. Thankfully, it had only numbed her arm. In minutes Hailey was testing her arm once more. She sighed in relief. I stood and opened my backpack, unrolling my sleeping bag next to it.

"Well, I guess this is as good a place as any to set up camp. I'll start a fire. I think we passed a stream walking here, could you go get some water?" I handed Garrett a pot. He nodded and walked off. I collected branches and dry pine needles. Then I cleared away a spot for the fire, placing medium sized rocks in a circle. Then I had Hailey dig a shallow pit in the center. There, I set the larger logs. On top I put the kindling. Finally, I took out my lighter and set fire to my construction. By the time Garrett got back, I had a fire burning.

"What took you so long, Garrett?" I asked.

"Zee. Do you know how turned around you can get in this forest?" He set the pot of water next to me and laid down near the fire. I busied myself with boiling the water and throwing in a packet of noodles, vegetables from home, and some salt. Garrett sniffed the air.

"Mmmmm… It smells so good. Is it ready yet?" he asked.

"Just about!" I took the pot off the fire and poured the noodle soup into two bowls. I was about to toss Garrett my extra pair of chopsticks when he stopped me.

"I have a pair of my own, thank you very much," he said. I then took out a bag of pokémon food and a half-dozen set of collapsible plastic bowls. I filled them with food and called Hailey over. I was about to release my other five pokémon when Garrett spoke up.

"Oh, I can't wait to see this!" I paused and looked at him.

"What?"

"I've been dying to see the rest of your pokémon. Each one seems to be super powerful!" I blushed. I guess those five years of training paid off. I threw out Damien, Nessie, and Styx first. But he had already seen them. The pokémon instantly made a beeline for their food. I held my last two balls in my hand. Garrett looked at me expectantly. I tossed them into the air simultaneously.

"Katsa! Jasper! Come on out!" My arcanine and crobat burst from their balls happily, stretching in the cool night air.

"Garrett, meet Katsa!" Katsa looked up and bobbed her large, furry head at Garrett, her tongue lolling out playfully. Her fluffy vanilla mane covered her entire face, leaving only small fur-free areas around her large green eyes. The rest of her body was orange and more vanilla fluff, black stripes painted down her sides. Many people loved arcanines for their regal look. Little did they know that my Katsa hid food in that beautiful mane of hers for midnight snack attacks. Not very regal, now is it?

"And this is Jasper." Jasper was hanging upside down in a tree over his food bowl. His sleek, aerodynamic body was a shade of royal purple, except for the undersides of his wings, which were a greenish-blue. He was using his small, stubby "fingers" to pick up food and pop it into his mouth. His long pointed ears twitched happily. He smiled and winked at Garrett, who just shook his head.

"Unbelievable. Look at you! You're pokémon are all so… beautiful." My pokémon all smiled at him and made appreciative noises.

"Don't get too big-headed guys! Although, you all are totally awesome," I said, tossing them some poketreats – snacks my mom and I created. Originally she was trying to teach me how to bake cookies. But I had knocked over some ingredients into the batter. Of course, I didn't say anything. We baked them, but when we tried to eat them we ended up gagging. But Boo had gotten at one and loved it. Ever since, mom and I whip up a batch every week, and store them in cereal boxes for the pokémon.

"Ok. Now it's your turn!" I said, looking at Garrett.

"What?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Aren't you going to feed your pokémon?" I asked pointedly. He smiled and let out his rapidash and tangela. He held the last three in his hand.

"Go, Machamp! Go Pidgeot!" The large bluish-gray pokémon came out first, flexing its muscles as it did. It smiled good-naturedly before diving into the food. Styx gladly shared with him. Pidgeot appeared next. She was a beautiful bird, with glossy plumage and keen brown eyes. The long feathers atop her head were scarlet and gold, and shone proudly. I reached out my hand to touch the feathers. I barely grazed one when the pidgeot flew up onto a branch, glaring at me. She squawked and spread her wings in my direction, trying to intimidate me. I backed away quickly angling my head down respectfully.

"I don't think she likes me very much," I said, looking at Garrett. He frowned at the pidgeot.

"Weird. She's never like this. Pidgeot! Come down and be nice!" he yelled. The pidgeot just turned her back to him. Garrett shrugged.

"Well she's stubborn. She'll come around eventually, I'll bet." The pidgeot squawked again in disbelief.

"Hey! What about your last pokémon? Aren't you going to let it out?" I asked. Garrett motioned to follow him. We left our pokémon eating at the camp. Garrett led me toward the river we had seen earlier.

"I couldn't let her out earlier, but I think this will do," Garrett said.

"Come on out, Kingdra!" Out of the ball came one of the most majestic pokémon I had ever seen. Her scales were small and compact, and were the most stunning shade of cerulean. Her head was long and sleek, and her beautiful fins waved back and forth, fighting the current of the river. I had never seen a Kingdra before.

"….Wow," I breathed.

"Can I… touch her?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't want this to be like the pidgeot incident.

"Sure. She's pretty chill." I reached out cautiously, and laid a hand on her neck. The scales were smooth and cool to the touch. I ran my hand over her scales, up and down. The kingdra made a guttural noise, not unlike a purr. Her eyes were closed, happily humming away.

"Well, Kingdra really likes you!" Garrett laughed. I took my hand away and the Kingdra opened her eyes. I had brought the bag of pokémon food with me, and I gave her some, along with a pokémon treat.

"I should get back to see how the others are doing. You mind if I take the food back?" I asked. Garrett shook his head and started talking with his kingdra. I made my way back to camp slowly, enjoying the peacefulness of the woods. Then I heard a twig snap. I stopped. Probably just a wild pokémon. I looked around nervously. Where was I? Somehow, I had gotten turned around.

"Oh God… Ok, ok don't panic. Just retrace your steps…" I looked around. All the frickin trees looked exactly the same! Fear began to overtake me. I was in the woods without pokémon. Shit. The walls of the forest seemed to start closing in on me. I couldn't breathe.

"Calm down. Just calm down… Nothing's wrong. Nothing is going to hurt me," I assured myself.

"Are you sure about that?" a voice sneered. I turned around and screamed.


	6. Break

**Long chapter, followed by a brief one. Kidnapping is common in Kanto, evidently. – FeatherPen18**

Chapter 6:

Does this happen to every kid on their adventure, or is just me? I woke up in the dark. Usually I like the dark – it usually meant safety. But this dark was bad. I closed in on me, suffocating me. My mouth was dry, and it felt like my head was filled with cotton balls. Bright light suddenly invaded my brain. It seared through my eyes, blinding me. I cried out. The dark was looking better now. I squinted, tears rolling down my cheeks. Where the hell was I? I tried to move my hands to my eyes, to rub the blurriness away. Cold metal chaffed against my wrists. Oh God. Oh god, oh god, oh god…

A rough, calloused hand grabbed my chin and forced my gaze upwards. I couldn't see who it was exactly, but I recognized the shock of fair hair. I blinked rapidly. I tried to say something but my clumsy tongue wouldn't form the words.

"Finally awake, eh? Took you long enough," he sneered. Words were beyond me. So I simply spit in his face.

"Augh! Disgusting little bitch!" he swore, wiping the saliva from his cheek. I managed a small smile. The oncoming slap quickly wiped that off my face. The sting fully sharpened my senses. I was standing, my arms cuffed to the wall above my head. I looked at my assailant. The blonde's features sharpened – the hard line of his jaw, the aristocratic nose scrunched up in disgust. The room was gray. Concrete floor, concrete walls, and a –you guessed it- concrete ceiling. A steel door was slightly open across from me. A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling, the source of the horrible light.

"Where's your pokémon to save you now?" The blonde - what was his name? Zach? – laughed. I shifted my feet. They moved. No cuffs.

"Oh he's here. Don't doubt it, jackass," I bluffed, looking through the door, smiling. Zach looked taken aback for a second. But soon a smug, self-satisfied expression replaced it.

"Nice try, but we checked. Odor Sluethed the entire place before we brought you in. Don't you know it's dangerous to wander around the forest without pokémon?" he whispered in my ear, mockingly. Goosebumps ran down my arms, and I shivered. Zach smirked.

"And Garrett's long gone. We made sure of that." My heart stopped. No. Impossible.

"You're lying. He was –" I stopped. This is exactly what they wanted to here.

"Still in Viridian. I left him there. His whole criminal record was totally off-putting," I lied. Zach pushed his face up to mine, so we were nose to nose.

"You're sure about that?" he hissed.

"Hmm… maybe, maybe not. Why should I answer your questions?" I hissed right back. Zach's eyes narrowed.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said. I rolled my eyes at the over-used line.

"Hard way it is!" I swung my foot up and kicked him in the crotch. Zach collapsed, groaning. I aimed another swift kick to his head, but he caught my foot mid-flight. He glared up at me, as if he was trying to roast me alive with his eyes. I gulped. He stood, still gripping my ankle. My leg was extended straight in front of me, and I wobbled on one leg. I tried to pull it out of his grip to no avail.

"Let go of me!" I shrieked. Zach smiled.

"You've made your choice." He pushed my leg slowly upward, keeping it locked straight.

"W-what are you doing? Ow! STOP!" I screamed. It felt as if my muscles were slowly being pulled apart. He pushed harder, as my foot grew parallel with my head. I was sobbing uncontrollably. Zach touched his forehead against mine, his skin cold as ice.

"I am going to break you," he whispered. He dropped my leg, which fell limp to the floor. I sagged to the ground, still held up partially by the cuffs. Huge, gasping sobs escaped my lungs spasmodically, as Zach left the room.

_36 Hours Later_

Garrett. This was his fault. I fucking go on my journey _5 years late_ so I would be prepared. And HE comes in and ruins me. Damien… he hadn't come to rescue me either. I just wanted to go home. Evidently, that's the only thing I was reasonably good at. That's it. No more favors for Garrett. I was getting out even if it hurt him. The door opened. I recoiled from the harsh light in the dark room.

"Stop. I'll tell you what you want to know already!" I rasped. I cracked my eyes open. A person's silhouette stood in the open doorway, along with a mysterious pokémon. Not again.

"Why me, why me, why me, whyme, whyme, whymewhymewhyme…?" I whimpered, as the person approached. I braced myself for the blow that must be coming.

"Oooh. I love a good pity party. I even brought the world's smallest violin. I could play it for you." I looked up, squinting. A young woman stood in front of me, dressed in black, form fitting clothes. A mask covered her face, but bright white hair flowed from a ponytail in the back. She was holding her thumb and pointer finger so that they were almost touching.

"Shoot, I forgot. I'm kinda busy at the moment. I came here to break a chick out of a prison. Maybe another time." The mysterious woman pulled a key out from inside her sleeve and attacked the locks at my wrists. I stood in shock, watching as she impatiently stabbed at the keyhole.

"Come on, you stupid lock…" she mumbled.

"Who _are_ you?" I asked. She froze and looked up slowly, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm saving your ass at the moment, do you honestly care what my name is?" she whispered harshly. She shot a nervous glance at the still open door. The unknown pokémon was still guarding it. Finally, the lock fell open. My hands dropped to my sides. They started to tingle painfully – they had long since gone numb from hanging for hours on end.

"COME ON, ALREADY!" The woman grabbed my wrist and hauled me towards the door. The amount of light in the hallway was blinding. My eyes were barely open, as my rescuer through me onto the back of the pokémon. All I could see was a white blur of hallways, and the shiny black and blue fur beneath me. The pokémon's gait was smooth and quick, tearing through the hallways without a sound. My eyes slowly adjusted. Oh my god. I was getting out of this Hell. Euphoria swept through me, and I felt like laughing. We turned a corner. At the end of this hallway was an automatic door.

"This is it," I heard the woman whisper. In five seconds we'd be out that door. In four seconds, the hallway exploded.


	7. Explosions

**Hello again. It's been a while, hasn't it? Good thing this is a long chapter. :) ~Leopardspotz17**

**Note: My TV is freaking out… Just thought you should know.**

**Second Note: My friend Flyingflower666'-'666. She helped me out of my writing funk.**

Chapter 7:

"HOLY SHIT!" The woman yelled. Her pokémon stopped suddenly, the woman and I falling over its head and onto the floor, due to the momentum. Dust and debris flew into the air, and I coughed, my ravaged lungs protesting with every breath. Alarms were set off, sirens piercing my ears like hundreds of tiny needles. Flashing white and red lights filled the hallway, adding to the confusion. An automated voice was telling everyone in the building to evacuate.

"What the Hell?" the woman shouted, up on the pokémon once more. I could see the creature more closely now. It had a large, cat-like body, with predominantly black fur. Its midsection and back legs were an electric blue, and its tail was tipped with a sharp, four-pointed star. It looked at me, red-rimmed golden eyes seeing right through me, as if it could see me as the useless and empty thing that I was. It bared its teeth menacingly towards me, and I shrunk back.

"What the fuck are you still doing on the ground? Get up here!" The woman pulled me up onto the black beast. Then I saw what it was really snarling at.

An impossibly huge Steelix had burst through the floor. Only its head was in the corridor, but even so it had crashed through the walls on both sides and the ceiling up above. It blocked the way to the exit. The woman had a crazed look in her eye, and looked back down the hallway from which we came. A man had stumbled out into the hall with a houndoom.

"Hey! What are you –"

"Luxray, Roar!" The pokémon let out a huge, terrifying roar that shook the air around us. The beast trembled with the ferocity of its voice, and I felt the vibrations rippling through its body. I shuddered and fought the urge to run away from the creature. The houndoom, on the other hand, sprinted immediately away, yelping down the hallway. The owner of the houndoom looked nervously at us and then ran, screaming, after his pokémon.

"Steelix, return!" The woman turned the luxray around to see the gigantic steel pokémon disappearing into its ball. On the other side of the gaping hole in the floor, was a tall, rugged man. He looked to be in his twenties. He had dirty blonde hair, and wore silver shades, protecting his eyes from the dust and rock. The rest of him was covered in a layer of dirt, his blue trench coat plastered with it as well as his boots. He took off his shades.

"Well, looks like you saved me a lot of trouble," he said to the woman, glancing at me. She looked angry.

"And you've cost me a lot of trouble, you son of a bitch!" With that, the luxray easily jumped the gap and landed on the linoleum floor next to the door. The dirty man gazed at the pokémon, his brow furrowing in thought. The woman jumped off the luxray and opened the door. Her pokémon jumped outside, carrying me with it. Outside was a forest. Was this still the Viridian, though? The trees seemed different – not as overgrown as the ones in Viridian.

"You coming, Mr. Dramatic Entrance?" she asked the man. He smiled.

"Just one more thing." He took a softball-sized silver ball out of his pocket, and pushed down a nearly invisible indent. The ball lit up red. He casually tossed it across the abyss his Steelix made, to the other side of the hallway.

"Let's Go. QUICKLY," he said, taking off out the door. The woman in black jumped on her luxray and it sprinted into the woods after him. I looked back to see the steel building sitting in a clearing. But soon trees stood in the way, and the building was lost in the foliage. We quickly drew along side the man, who was still running. He jumped up agilely onto the luxray, who didn't seem to mind. He was sitting behind me, grinning. He looked vaguely familiar.

"What did you throw in there?" I asked timidly. The man said nothing. He held up three fingers. Then two. One.

_**BOOM!**_

Behind us, it sounded as if a missile had struck the earth. I felt the heat on my back and above us, bits of metal and concrete rained down on the leafy treetops. The guy had fucking blown up the building. What kind of person _does that_?

"You blew it up?" I shrieked, aghast. He shrugged, and smiled.

"What can I say? I like explosions," he laughed. At my panic-stricken expression, he laughed even harder.

"B-but you didn't even stick around to see it explode!" I spluttered. I felt faint. He gave me a calm and even look.

"Cool guys don't look at explosions," he simply replied. In about a minute the luxray slowed down, and we dismounted. The woman spun to face the man.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she screamed at him.

"Exactly what you were. I was going to break this girl out. Now, who are you, exactly?" he asked, unruffled. The woman's mouth formed a hard line, as if she desperately wanted to smack him.

"Isn't it polite to give your own name before you ask for mine?" she snapped. The man smirked.

"I just blew up a building for the fun of it. Do you really think I'm polite?" The woman glared.

"Call me Rogue."

"Rogue?"

"It's what I am. That's the point of a name, right?" she said, rolling her eyes. She absentmindedly stroked her luxray, the latter giving off happy sparks. So it was an electric type.

"I'm Wes. Nice to meet you." He was looking at me, and he stuck out his hand. _Wes_. As in Garrett's uncle?

"You have a long history of blowing shit up," I whispered, eyes wide. He laughed.

"Garrett really must have filled you in." He looked at Rogue.

"You mind if I take her from here?" Rogue's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, I do mind. You think I busted her out of there for no reason? I-"

"Wait." Wes walked towards Rogue, and stared into her eyes.

"Do I know you?" he breathed. Something in Rogue's eyes flashed.

"No." And she was gone. I barely saw the tail of her luxray as they fled deeper into the woods. Wes was silent, and he stared after her. He put a hand in his pocket and sighed.

"Come on. I'll take you to your pokémon." My heart leapt. Damien, Nessie, Styx, Hailey, Katsa, Jasper….. I had never been away from them for so long. I nodded, determination starting to creep back into me.

"Take me."

We soared above the treetops, clouds barely grazing the tips of the pokémon's wings. The trees were destroyed where we had taken off, branches broken and leaves tumbling to the ground. This creature was simply too big. Wes called it a salamence.

It's dark red, blade-like wings sliced through the air, carrying its impossibly heavy body through the sky. Below us, thick foliage created the canopy of the trees. Soon, the trees began to thin out. Ten minutes later, the salamence started to descend, the city limits fast approaching. The large pokémon landed, its tail thumping to the ground. Wes jumped off easily, while I slid down cautiously after him.

"Here we are," Wes said, recalling his salamence. I looked up at the skyscrapers. This was much bigger than Viridian… and I had thought that was huge.

"Where are we?" I asked. Wes looked at me incredulously.

"This is Celadon City! Second only in size to Saffron, which lies a little to the east."

We entered the city, winding through sidewalks and alleyways. I was lost in the haze of lights and noise. Within minutes we drew closer to the center of the city. We passed a large department store. It towered above the other buildings, the huge Pokémart sign blinking. Behind it was a large television screen, advertising numerous products. I stood still, gazing at a pokédoll with the likeness of a clefairy.

"Come on! You can go shopping _after_ people aren't chasing you." I could almost hear Wes rolling his eyes.

Through the center of the city we went, threading through the crowds of people. Street venders called out their wares, and small children were tugged along by their parents. It was utter chaos.

"Do you live here?" I asked, pushing past an overweight man. Wes smiled at me.

"Sometimes. If I feel like it." I didn't bother to ask what he meant. Wes was a strange guy… I most likely did not want to know.

After we passed through the throng of tourists in the city square, we ran into less and less people. Finally, the din was left behind us, and we came upon an old brick building. It smelled horrible in this part of town.

"Ugh! What _is_ that stench?" I asked, clamping my close. Wes chuckled.

"Local grimer infestation. The sewage workers are trying, but you know how hard it is to get rid of pokémon. Especially if they like it there," he replied.

Wes ascended the front steps of the building, and turned the doorknob. It stuck. He pushed. Still stuck. Wes growled, and pushed up his sleeves. He stood back a couple steps.

"Ahhh!" He ran towards the door. His shoulder was about to hit the wood when.

"What is with all the b-"

**WHAM**

"Oooww…" Garrett whimpered hoarsely. Wes rolled off to the side and stood up. He was completely fine.

"Sorry, nephew!" Wes laughed. Garrett made a face. Then he saw me. He pushed past Wes and hugged me. I stood stalk still and waited for him to let go. He didn't notice. He pulled back and smiled. I looked at him with cold eyes. Not forgiven. Never forgiven…

"Where's my pokémon?" I asked, shouldering past him into the house. Wes looked over my shoulder to Garrett and shrugged, as if to say, _Bitches be crazy._ But I didn't care.

"Damien! You here?" I called, hopefully. Nothing… then,

"Gengar!" The big, lovable, purple ghost slammed into me, hugging me for all that he was worth.

"Damien!" I hugged him in return, running my hand through the spikes on his back gently. I would never let him go again.

"Aw, I love happy reunions!" Wes could say all that he wanted to; nothing could pull me out of my happiness.

"Are you ok?" Garrett placed his hand on my shoulder. I jerked back immediately, hissing.

"Don't touch me."

Garrett's eyes widened and he backed away apologetically. I buried my head in Damien's soft body. The ghost pokémon patted my back softly.

"Gen. Gengar," he said reassuringly. Damien pulled back and held up something in his hand. My belt.

"Oh, thank you Damien!" I cried happily. I released them all from their balls. Nessie, Styx, Katsa, Jasper, and Hailey all appeared from their balls. When they saw me they all cried out simultaneously. Nessie's tail lit up so brightly that everyone was blinded. Finally, Damien sat on her tail and put out the light. Nessie glared at him, to which he grinned.

"Jesus Christ! Remind me never to separate you from your pokémon if only to avoid burning my retinas!" Nessie cuffed Wes on the head with her paw.

"Ow… what? It's _true_!" Wes rubbed the back of his head, pouting. I smiled.

"I see how it is. I think we'd better give these guys some privacy. Come on, Garrett. Stop standing there like an idiot, your girlfriend's _fine_." I glowered at the remark, resisting the urge to flip the sliver-haired man off.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Garrett and Wes disappeared up the stairs. I grabbed on to all my pokémon, holding them close. Katsa licked me, her saliva coating the right half of my face. On any other day I'd be annoyed, but today it was the best thing she had ever done.

"I love you all," I whispered.

_Scratch! Scratch!_

"Huh, I wonder what that is." I walked to the door, standing on my tiptoes to look through the peephole. Only to find, that it had been painted over. I scoffed and opened the door.

Sitting on the front step was a glameow. It meowed and looked up at me with big eyes.

"Hey, little fellow. Are you lost?" I asked sticking out my hand to pat him on the head. The glameow hissed and scratched me, raking its long claws down my hand.

"Dammit!" I yelled, wrapping my hand in my shirt.

"There she is! Get her!" I squinted as a flashlight beam burned into my eyes. Shit.


End file.
